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Laura Fygi: The Lady Wants to Know
Like Marisa Monte, the beautiful Laura Fygi is one of the great pretenders to the Astrud Gilberto throne. " The lady wants to know " is a wonderful collection of bossa nova and movie classics which reminds me of the magic I felt in the sixties when I first heard this kind of music for the first time courtesy of the album " Astrud Gilberto ".
Joining Laura on the album amongst others, are ' Toots ' Thielemans, Michael Franks and Clark Terry. It oozes the music of Tom Jobim (Dindi, Corcovado, Triste, How Insensitive) and the full sound of strings featuring our own London Studio Orchestra.
Like Pamela Driggs of Brasilia, Laura is equally at home singing in English or Portuguese and offers beautiful renditions of the movie tracks, Rodgers and Hammerstein classic " It might as well be spring " from the movie ' State Fair ', " Baubles, Bangles and Beads " from ' Kismet ', ' Cole Porter's ' " You do something to me " from ' Fifty Million Frenchman ' and ' Meredith Willson's ' standard " Till there was you " from ' The Music Man '.
Laura sings the stunning but , all too short, ' Everything but the Girls ' classic " Each and Everyone " written by Ben Watt and Tracey Thorn in the early eighties and features the acoustic guitar playing of ' Leonardo Amuedo ', a sound reminiscent of Ricardo Silveira.
Michael Franks shares a duet with Laura on the Franks penned " Tell me all about it " If there was ever one person that could influence and assist your career in the music of Brazil, Laura has found him in Michael Franks whose own classic " Antonio's song " from his ' Sleeping Gypsy ' set is one of my all time bossa classics.
This is an album for bossa nova connoisseurs from the old school, it is simple, it has good arrangements, beautifully sung and ' oh so pleasing ' to my ears. This is the kind of music that turned me on to bossa nova music all those years ago and I don't care if this is " nothing new ", it is wonderful music performed by a much under-rated vocalist. My advice on this one is, ' Don't let it pass you by, get out there and try and find a copy '.
Personnel
Album information
Title: The Lady Wants to Know | Year Released: 1997 | Record Label: Mercury Records
About Laura Fygi
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